Guidelines for the preparation of table grapes in SA for export 2025/2026_ND

Actions by phenological stage

Dormancy Pruning: Spurs (2 buds) with 8–10 buds per m 2 . Or half-long bearers (8 buds) with 12–15 buds per m 2 . Cane pruning improves bunch spacing.

Improving bud break: Apply hydrogen cyanamide before bud break to advance the harvest date or improve bud break. Use according to the product registration. Bud break to flowering 2 cm shoot length: Start with the powdery mildew programme. Sensitive to powdery mildew and thrips. Control proactively during the growing season. 10–15 cm shoot length: Top dominant shoots so that shoots with bunches will all be more or 20 cm shoot length: Needs strong vigour during flowering for better thinning. Remove all extra bunches before flowering. Aim to have one bunch per shoot as early as possible. 80–110 cm shoot length: Optimal shoot length at flowering. Flowering to set Early thinning with gibberellic acid can lead to shot berries. Chemical thinning is unnecessary in warmer areas. In the Western Cape, with cooler flowering conditions, 1 ppm gibberellic acid can be sprayed for thinning. Apply when 50%–60% of the bunches have set. Low concentrations (1.0%) of low-biuret urea can be added. Set to véraison 5 mm berry diameter: Remove leaves around bunches. Ensure that leaves don’t chafe bunches. This applies to the whole season until harvest. Shorten bunches to 70–80 berries per bunch. Leave one bunch per shoot with a minimum diameter of 10 mm. Leave 55 000 bunches per hectare. Apply nitrogen according to vigour. 6–8 mm berry diameter: Apply 7.5 ppm gibberellic acid for berry enlargement in the Western Cape. Apply 10–15 ppm gibberellic acid for berry enlargement in the Orange River. Berry attachment can be improved by adding 0.5–1 ppm CPPU (cytokinin) to the enlargement spray. Véraison to harvest ± 20% of berries soft: Open a gap of approximately 30 cm at the top of the canopy. Avoid direct sunlight on bunches. Late handling of bunches can cause surface browning. Remove bunches on weak shoots. Harvest to packing Ideal sugar levels at harvest are 18 °Brix. Sensitive to surface browning: Handle bunches carefully. Don’t handle turgid grapes on cold mornings after rain or irrigation. Swollen surface cells can break, leading to browning. less the same length at flowering. Apply nitrogen according to vigour.

SATI GUIDELINES FOR THE PREPARATION OF TABLE GRAPES IN SOUTH AFRICA FOR EXPORT 37